Pennfield voters again reject bond

Voter Erica Stenman, standing, talks with an election official after casting her vote Tuesday while Ronna Jones, forefront, also an election official, monitors the voting.(Photo: Noe Hernandez/The Enquirer)

The second time around was not the charm Tuesday for a multimillion-dollar bond proposal to improve Pennfield schools.

Voters for a second time in less than a year rejected their school district's request for bonds to improve facilities, 855-820. They turned down a 30-year, $8.6 million proposal after rejecting an $8.3 million proposal in August.

"I'm very disappointed," Superintendent Tim Everett said after the results were announced by Calhoun County election officials. "We were looking to improve the safety of our students in the district and I'm disappointed that didn't happen.

"I want to thank all of our workers who worked on this very hard. They did a great job, but I'm very disappointed. The board will regroup and prioritize needs. The safety concerns are still there. They don't go away just because people voted no."

This time, voters refused to pay 0.60 mills of property tax, down from the 0.75 mills the district had requested in August. If the measure had passed, the owner of a home with a taxable value of $52,500 (the average in Pennfield) would have paid $31.50 a year, or $2.63 a month, in taxes.

Chuck Adams, a 30-year district resident who voted against the first proposal, opposed it for a second time. He said parents from outside the district who send their children to Pennfield schools should pay the taxes he and other district homeowners pay to support their schools.

"I'm disappointed that we're in a situation that we don't have the correct way to fund our schools," Adams said Tuesday. "Our legislators need to go back to the drawing board and come up with a fair solution to fund these school proposals or any funding. Everybody, regardless of Schools of Choice, should have to pay toward the bond."

The district had asked for nearly $2.1 million for Dunlap Elementary School renovations, nearly $1.9 million for Pennfield Middle School improvements and a little more than $2.4 million for athletic complex and parking lot upgrades.

North Penn and Purdy elementary schools would have received $630,591 and $564,430, respectively, in upgrades. The district also would have used $737,040 to convert First Wesleyan North Church into a preschool center.

Most of the construction would have started in a year or two.

Tom Morse, a 64-year resident of the district, again voted for the proposal.

"I've never voted no on a millage," he said. "I believe in public education, I believe in Pennfield schools and I'm a product of Pennfield schools, and my sons both graduated from Pennfield schools."